The Central Pacific Gyre in the Pacific Ocean is filled with suspended plastic pollution particles. Scientist Captain Charles Moore, describes the problems plastic pollution pose to marine life, and the ongoing studies of plastic pollution by the onb...oard research vessel the Algalita, supported by the Algalita Foundation.[more]

After being taken to a storage location, recycled glass is taken to a glass re-manufacturing facility, where it is crushed and sorted by color. Discover how recycled glass is melted and remade with help from a solid waste planning engineer and recycl...ing program coordinator in this video on glass recycling.
Lynn Bestul is the solid waste planning engineer and recycling program coordinator for the New Hanover Department of Environmental Management in Wilmington, N.C.
Filmmaker: Reel Media LLC[more]

We've all thrown away a pair of old sneakers, but what happens to them once they leave our closet? Bill Nye shows us the impact that our shoe waste has on the planet. He also addresses the affects polyvinylchloride (PVC) has on our environment and wh...at other items contain PVC, and how we can help.[more]

In the Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who was cursed to roll a
huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat
this throughout eternity.
A beach cleanup on Midway Atoll made us feel just like Sisyphus.
There
are ...millions of tons of plastics present in our oceans, and these are
constantly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces which are
scattered throughout the water column and present, in different
densities, throughout all the worlds oceans.
Contrary
to what many people believe, there are no visible islands of trash
anywhere --even if some areas, the gyres, accumulate higher densities of
plastic pollution. In actuality, what is happening is much more complex
and scary: our oceans are becoming a planetary soup laced with plastic.
To make thing worse, these tiny pieces of plastic are extremely
powerful chemical accumulators for organic persistent pollutants
present in ambient sea water such as DDE's and PCB's. The whole food
chain, from filtering invertebrates to marine mammals are eating plastic
and /or other animals who have plastic in them. This means that we
are. Like the albatrosses on Midway, we carry the garbage patch inside
of us.
Cleaning up this mess is not feasible, technically or
economically. Even if all the boats in the world were put to the task
somehow, the cleanup would not only remove the plastics but also the
plankton, which is the base of the food chain, and is responsible for
capturing half of the CO2 of our atmosphere and generating half of the
oxygen we need to breathe.
But even if this problem was solved
too somehow, the amount of plastic that we could capture, at an immense
cost, would be a drop in the bucket as compared to the amount that flows
into the ocean every day.
No matter how hard we push, in terms
of technology or money, the boulder will be rolling back down the hill,
throughout eternity, unless we stop putting more plastics into our
environment.
The good news is that we can do this. We can do
this now. We need to start a social movement that spreads virally and
creates a critical mass of concerned citizens who pledge to move away
from our disposable habits, and who raise their voice to reject and
reverse a throwaway culture that might be profitable, but whose
consequences are intolerable.
Filmed and edited by: Jan Vozenilek http://www.CopperSkyProductions.com
Written and narrated by: Manuel Maqueda http://www.manuelmaqueda.com/
Music by: Christen Lien http://www.itsnotaviolin.com[more]

From YouTube, produced by Kerikeri High School Recycling Action Group (RAG)

"Do you recycle? Do you know where your plastic goes?" asks the Kerikeri High School Recycling Action Group (RAG). They present a short documentary on the plastic journey through pollution, landfills and recycling centres.

In this video, you will learn how to fuse those unwanted plastic bags from the grocery store into your very own laptop case or any other bag. Do your part and help the Earth Heros fight off the evil Plastic Bag Monster. Great craft idea for a lesson ...on recycling. The project requires an iron and sewing machine and will need parent supervision. Run time 06:29.[more]

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